Packanack

Packanack was a hunting region on the colonial frontier of the Thirteen Colonies, located in what is now Passaic County, New Jersey. Packanack, which means "land made clear for cultivation" in the Lenape language, was settled by the Native Americans as a farming, fishing, and hunting area. By 1780, it was farming country and marshlands not far from the Continental Army encampment of French and American soldiers, with George Washington staying at the Dey Mansion and the Marquis de Lafayette at the Van Saun House. In 1925, 700 acres of ridges and valley were bought by Joseph T. Castles with the goal of developing a community, and the valley of marshland was cleared of trees and brush in 1928. Roads were built, water and sewer mains were laid, a sewage disposal system was constructed, and a man-made lake was created. Today, the area is known as "Packanack Lake", an unincorporated community in Wayne, Passaic County.